April 18, 2024
If you like to write, and you know I do 😁, it is interesting to see something you did from years past. The first reaction is, "Did I write that? That 'aint half bad!"
Then, you're like..."Well, I'm still a hack..., but I like it anyway."
Today, I stumbled over an old post someone revived on the interwebs. I know all that stuff is still out there - somewhere - but it's a kick to see one dredged up.
This one was resurrected today at Panfish on the Fly, where I shared it in 2017.
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The recent Hair Nymph Crusade here at the salt mines of Palmetto Fly n Fish has yielded this quirky hodgepodge of Franken-flies.
Hair Nymphs
Even more interesting, the Aussie possum used was once part of Fran Betters' personal stash. Mike generously parted with a few pieces earlier this year.
To add still another twist, these are tied mostly in the style of Polly Rosborough's, "Casual Dress."
So, added up: they are Rosbourough-inspired flies, using fur that was once in Fran Betters' own horde.
If you don't know who those guys were - shame on you. Get to googlin'!
Hackle Tricks
Now for a confession: I pretty much suck at the proper, spun hair-loop called for on the collars. That technique has eluded me, mostly because I lack a wax with enough tack and a single hook loop spinner.
The wax is a key part of holding the hair to the thread while the spinning is accomplished. Someday, I'll get the knack for it, Someday.
But, all is not lost, because I found a workaround that I like better - the reverse hackle method. This has provided the means to make a very nice hackle on these flies, as you can see in the pic. The one at the front, right, is a clear example of that style for attaching the hackle hair.
It's feels odd to talk of hackle and hair in the same breath, but that's the whole point of this exercise. There isn't a feather in sight with these flies - everything is hair or fur cut from a single skin source.
This helps making the flies rugged.
The weird part is that the reverse-hackling method has been on my radar for years, yet, it has always been associated with feathers. But here I have crossed-over the method and adapted it to use hair.
Learn a technique...then apply it in a new way.
Check. ✅
Tough Flies
Each fly was also reinforced on the body with a wire rib, either gold or red. This adds a little extra weight to what is intended as a subsurface fly, but mostly it keeps the body's underfur dubbing from getting all raggedy.
That's another layer of toughness.
Lastly, these flies are reinforced with head cement at crucial points during the construction -
1. Underbody/hook shank
2. Tail - to - body
3. Hackle attachment
4. Thread wraps at head.
This glue reinforcement is an old-school tying technique, which seems to have fallen from use. This is a bit of mystery to me, because everyone seems to want rugged flies that hold together - but they don't use this trick. Maybe they think it's too time consuming; I dunno.
But for slick, wiry hair, it keeps the stuff from pulling out, and adds the last bit of sturdiness.
FISHING
Over the few years I've been doing this, I've found that hairy flies with lots of furry busy-ness are magnetic to fish.
- I once tied a wad of hair thrown up by my cat onto a hook - and the panfish went crazy for it. I called it the, "Cat Yak Fly."
- I also did that with a single hackle - just a hook and a hackle. And the result was the same.
This makes me wonder why we go to the fuss over these flies, when a cat's hairball will do the job.
I've also noticed that hairy-fuzzy has become trademark of mine. Everyone has a "style" of their own, and looking in my Fly Box, 7 out 10 flies have this feature.
So I just roll with it.
I have likewise found that "nymphy" flies are also fish magnets. Reviewing my notes, I see that most of by best fish in the last 2 years were caught on something resembling a nymph, or within that class of patterns.
Today, I'm inclined to call these, "Hair Flymphs."
But whether 'Hair Nymph,' 'Hair Flymph,' or even, 'Hair Ball,' I know these flies will attract and catch the fish. Also, because of the hair-and-glue construction, I can expect they will meet my personal, "5 Fish Caught," Standard of Toughness.
Tight lines, amigos!
Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly, or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If yes, I'm as close your email me at... dahutist@gmail.com